By Bhekisisa Mncube
Durban - The eThekwini Metro Municipality has roped in other government agencies to deal head-on with the increasing cases of diarrhoea reported in the eThekwini Municipality area.
The team of health experts from national, provincial and local Departments of Health as well as the National Institute for Communicable Diseases has completed a week-long investigation into suspected cases of diarrhoea in certain parts of the municipality.
During the investigation, the team has confirmed that the eThekwini region has an outbreak of diarrhoea. The team found that more than 50 percent of samples collected came out positive for the Rotavirus.
Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhoea among infants and young children. It is a genus of double-stranded RNA virus in the family Reoviridae. The virus is transmitted by the faecal-oral route. It infects and damages the cells that line the small intestine and causes gastroenteritis.
In an interview with SAnews, Deputy Head of Communicable Disease Services in eThekwini Municipality, Dr Ayo Olowolagba, said less than 1 000 people are currently infected.
“I can confirm that the most infected people are found in the north of Durban (Inanda, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu) Durban Central and South (including Umlazi and Isipingo),” he said.
He revealed that they confirmed it was Rotavirus during mid-May.
“Health practitioners, including in clinics and hospitals, in the eThekwini region are continuing to educate the public about hygiene, especially when preparing food, washing of hands, disposal of faecal materials and the whole package of primary health care services,” he said.
He said that the virus affects mostly children and other vulnerable groups in the community. However, he said: “There is no need for alarm as the situation is now under control.”
He added that the health teams continue to visit communities, families, clinics and government hospitals in the region to investigate and to ascertain the causes of any diarrhoea cases of all people who have been admitted in hospital.
“The Municipality, in partnership with government, structures are doing their best to address this matter. We appeal to the community to cooperate and to work with us when doing house visits. This will be a continuous effort to prevent such outbreaks in the near future. The eThekwini region has a clean water supply that is safe for consumption and most of the houses that were visited have tap water and flushing toilets,” he assured residents.
He added that a consolidated report is expected to be finalised and will be released to the public as soon as findings are collated.
The eThekwini Municipality's Communications Unit press release said in most of the hospitals and clinics, “the Oral Rehydration Therapy Corner (ORT) is fully functional and there were no stock outs”.
The ORT corner is where parents are taught through demonstration how to mix the salt and sugar solution, which helps to stabilise diarrhoea while seeking professional help.
The statement said the mothers and care givers are advised to use the sugar and salt solution properly and adhere to the correct information, as failure to do this can result in deaths which are easily preventable.
“The public is encouraged to seek medical help in clinics and hospitals should they suspect symptoms of diarrhoea and not wait until the situation is worse,” said the statement. – SAnews.gov.za
